In blink of an eye, child grows to adult
A little less than four years ago, I wrote a column about sending my son, Bryan, off to college. Like most parents, my wife and I were very apprehensive about the experience. We wondered not only how he would adapt to college life but also to living in a big city after growing up in Uniontown. Well, Bryan not only survived, he thrived. Last weekend, he graduated with honors from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. We had an exciting time there, attending various graduation ceremonies, checking out the new World War II Memorial and dining out at fabulous restaurants.
Turns out that Bryan had little trouble in adapting to big-city life. He knows his way around D.C. like the back of his hand. He’s even found a full-time job there in the field of politics, which he loves so much. So, it looks like he’s on his way to even bigger and better things.
It’s still hard to believe, though, that four years have gone by since we first dropped him off at GW. It seems like yesterday that we plopped him down in the middle of our nation’s capital and said our farewells.
I still have vivid memories of that first day. After settling him in his dorm room, we had to take him to a university building downtown for some type of orientation event. It was a quiet ride. We all knew that the life we had all known was coming to an end. Our son was going to be on his own, 200 miles away from home.
The weather didn’t help. It was raining and the skies were very dark. Then, there was the traffic. We were only going a couple of miles but it was taking us forever to get there. There was also some type of major protest going on and the streets were crowded with angry people carrying signs.
As Bryan exited the car and entered the university building, I couldn’t help looking at my wife and wondering if we had lost our minds, leaving our only son in the middle of this big mess.
But things turned out fine. Through the miracles of e-mails and cell phones, we were able to stay in touch with him during the years and maintain a good relationship.
He went from a scared freshman to a savvy senior in no time at all, working sometimes two and three part-time jobs, including a stint as an intern for a United States senator, in addition to making excellent grades. He even found time to start his own political newspaper.
The transition also went well for us. It was different at first. The house was a lot quieter and cleaner without Bryan. We eventually got on with our own lives, trying to make the best of the situation.
It helped greatly that his sister, Ashley, was still around. But that was short-lived as two years later she left to attend West Virginia University. We still see her often, though, as Morgantown is a short drive from Uniontown.
While everything turned out as well as could be expected, there’s still a certain touch of the bittersweet to the whole graduation experience. Where does the time go?
It seems like you bring home a baby and in the blink of an eye, he’s graduating from college.
Someone once told me when my kids were young, to enjoy the time with them because they would grow up fast. I tried to do that. It wasn’t all fun and games, but the good times far outweighed the bad times. If there’s any advice I’d offer to parents of little kids, it’s to enjoy them while you can. Believe me, it won’t last forever.
Editor Mark O’Keefe can be reached at mo’keefe@heraldstandard.com.